I'm a Ph.D. student and instructor at Colorado State University. I write about users and the frustrations and joys of our digital lives. In addition to Forbes, I have written for The New Yorker, New York, Salon, National Catholic Reporter, Native American Times, and The Kansas City Star.

XBox 360 Launches HBO GO And The Future Inches Closer

I’m letting my wife sleep a few more minutes, even though I think she might get a little upset at me. Because for all intents and purposes, this is like a birthday present she anticipated for months and just arrived: Microsoft announced that HBO GO is launching on XBox Live today.

I’m excited too.

HBO is bringing their entire catalogue of shows to Xbox, all searchable by voice,” the press release says. “HBO GO on Xbox 360 features a comprehensive on-demand library including their hit original content from the past like “Deadwood,” “Band of Brothers” and “Entourage,” to current popular TV shows like “Eastbound & Down,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Boardwalk Empire” – in all, tens of thousands of your favorites.

HBO GO is arguably the best example of what the industry calls “Over The Top” entertainment programming in the United States. Rather than toying with shows being available, then not available, then available again — like you find on Hulu, Netflix and On Demand — the cable channel lays all of its programming out there, often before it’s shown on cable. The iPad and PC versions boast excellent navigation, the streaming is usually seamless.

It’s big news in my household because we own an XBox. If you have Boxee, or Apple TV, you’re probably shrugging right now. And it’s true Microsoft took a long time launching this app, but XBox has never been a streaming-first product. As a premium gaming device, it is much more than that: it’s a vision of the future. It’s a box that could potentially deliver everything in entertainment you want — and just what you want — through one portal. That portal, for now, is connected to a TV. But imagine a future where that device was a TV? (Look for my article on this later this week.)

Industry leaders, including the folks behind this service, have told me HBO didn’t have big plans for the GO service — it’s free with your cable subscription. It was just a way to keep customers loyal to the brand, an augmentation. The one key problem is customers can only get it with that subscription. And while it seems highly unlikely it will split this service off and sell it individually, it too is a vision of the future: A direct connection to the entertainment providers you want rather than buying huge packages of mostly irrelevant content.

It’s just the that the future is a long way off — and it has little to do with technology. It’s being slowed by a market that wants to keep premium pricing in place for as long as possible.

But the heat is getting turned up a bit.

Microsoft announced another addition to the XBox line-up: MLB.TV. This is direct competition with DirectTV, which has dominated the out-of-market sports field for year. And some bells and whistles might give XBox an edge:

MLB.TV on Xbox LIVE provides 2,430 games for you to watch live, or once they’ve gone final, or in a condensed recap format, all in stunning HD quality. Plus, you can pause and rewind games and highlights using just your voice and motion controls with Kinect for Xbox 360. With MLB.TV on Xbox LIVE, fans can choose between home and away broadcast feeds for every out-of-market regular season game, where available, as well as designate their favorite teams to ensure the live games and recaps they care about most are at the forefront each time they turn on their Xbox 360. Users must purchase MLB.TV Premium.

But price is another advantage: The cost for MLB.TV Premium is $124.99 for the year, or $24.99 per month. DirectTV’s MLB Extra Innings — which features 80 out-of-market per week — is $215.99 for the season, or $35.99.

On the other hand, XBox is clearly willing to play nice with Cable/Satellite companies wanting a more vibrant OTT experience. With VIOS already on board, Microsoft announced that Comcast Xfinity is joining as well.

This is the first time that Comcast has brought its On-Demand content to a console, and with Kinect for Xbox 360 you can find your favorite programming and control the experience with just the sound of your voice or wave of your hand. Bringing a huge on-demand library including hit movies, current popular TV shows, full seasons of past TV favorites, and an extensive selection of kids programming – thousands of items in total, including the new Streampix library – Xfinity TV on Xbox 360 gives TV fans a new way to experience their favorite entertainment.

This muddies the waters, which MSFT doesn’t mind doing. Because they’re not necessarily trying to build the future of entertainment as much as the future of Microsoft itself. And a happy XBox consumer base, like my wife will be today, is a serious part of that plan.

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